Ravenclaw Blues
by IheartLM'spimpcane
Summary: A plain girl reinvents herself to find love. Find it she does, but not where she expected it. Meanwhile, Lucius gets his signature style and pimp cane! Set during the Marauders' first year. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

AN: Just a random story I thought up and decided to write down. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!

* * *

It was 10:45 on September first, 1971. King's Cross Station bustled as hundreds of Muggles moved back and forth between the various platforms. Through the glass ceiling, the sun beat down as a last glimpse of summer. Its rays bounced off train engines and the luggage of passengers, but it shone particularly bright off the head of a 17-year-old boy with long blond hair. He strolled between platforms nine and ten while pushing a large luggage cart piled high with expensive black and green leather trunks and bags. Although he was dressed in Muggle clothing, indistinguishable from what the rest of the people in the station wore, his gray eyes betrayed his contempt for his attire and surroundings. As he walked, his eyes darted from Muggle to Muggle while the corner of his mouth curled further and further into an expression of clear disgust.

With a sigh of relief, he caught sight of a brick wall between the platforms. He began to charge at it at full speed, and in his haste to leave the Muggle-infested area of the station, failed to look in either direction to see if anyone was coming. It was not until he was a few feet from the wall that he noticed another cart coming towards the wall. With less than a second to spare, he managed to stop his cart before the imminent crash.

He turned around to see just who the idiot was. It was a girl slightly younger than him with a head of ghastly uncombed dirty-blonde hair. Looking at her, he felt slightly ill. It took him a second or two recognize her, especially since she kept her head down in embarrassment, but he finally managed to place her with a name.

He knew her to be a fifth year Ravenclaw. As far as he knew, she was a pure-blood, but with questionable family ties to blood traitors. Although they did have a few mutual acquaintances who were decent, the company she kept overall was repulsive and slightly odd. "Hyacinth Binns, isn't it?" he asked, his Muggle-induced scowl ever deepening on his face as he looked at her.

"Yes," she said. She seemed to recognize his voice and looked up at him for the first time. She wore no makeup to speak of and had serious problems with her complexion. Her teeth were relatively straight but terribly yellow. Other than that, her face was relatively pleasant, but she was no beauty by any means.

Hyacinth recognized him much quicker than he did her. He was Lucius Malfoy, the most popular boy in Slytherin. She had never actually met him before and had little opinion of him other than thinking he was rather attractive. Looking down at her luggage cart, she realized that she was blocking the wall and moved back so that he could move through it.

Still sneering slightly, Lucius shook his head and pulled his cart back. Without looking directly at her or saying a word, he gestured for her to enter first.

She shyly looked back down at her cart. "Thank you," she mumbled before disappearing into the wall.

Once on the other side, Hyacinth quickly lost herself in the crowd of students boarding the Hogwarts Express so she could avoid having to talk to or see Lucius again. After leaving her belongings on the platform to be put on the train, she found her way to the nearest door and hopped on. She had begun to walk to one of the middle cars where most of the Ravenclaws rode when she heard someone whisper her name behind her. She turned around to see Narcissa Black standing just outside a Slytherin compartment.

The two girls were distant cousins, 3rd cousins to be exact; Hyacinth's great-grandmother had been a Black. After her family's fairly recent descent into blood treachery and obscurity, Hyacinth's parents insisted on patching up their reputation with other pure-bloods. This included encouraging her to hobnob with distant relations like the Black sisters while at school. And since she was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of the more ideal Slytherin, such friendships were even more necessary to compensate. Having been closest to Narcissa in terms of age (Hyacinth was one year younger) than she was to Andromeda or Bellatrix, Narcissa seemed the most natural one to socialize with. To say Hyacinth and Narcissa were friends would be an exaggeration, but they did sometimes confide in each other on certain matters.

As she motioned her cousin over, Narcissa looked around to make sure no one too important was around to see. Although she felt some compassion for her confidante, she had no intention of making their relationship too public. "I wondered if I could have a word with you tomorrow, alone?" she asked. Although her words and eyes conveyed a sense of urgency, he tone of voice and body language remained calm, as they always seemed to.

"Yes, of course." Hyacinth then gave her cousin a slight smile that was not returned and took the hint that it was time she moved along to find her own compartment.

As Narcissa did not really count, Hyacinth had only one close friend at Hogwarts who she had known since their first year: Xenophilius Lovegood. She found him alone in a compartment at the end of the primarily Ravenclaw occupied car.

Like Hyacinth, his looks were nothing to write home about. His blue eyes were cross-eyed, and although he was fairly tall, his terrible posture made him look much shorter. He sat slumped over a notebook in his lap that had a large Q on the front. As she entered, he looked up to give her a quirky smile before returning to his work.

"How was your summer, Hy?" he asked without looking up again.

"Oh, boring," she shrugged. "You're doing _The Quibbler_ this year, are you?" After reading a particularly frustrating article in _The Daily Prophet_ during their 4th year, Xeno had decided to start his own periodical. While she doubted its success, Hyacinth tried to encourage him in the pursuit.

"This year will be the year that I end _The Prophets'_ monopoly in journalism!" he said with his characteristic enthusiasm. "I do have one favor to ask you though."

"Of course, what is it?"

Xeno set down the notebook and looked at her seriously. "I need you to write an article for me."

Hyacinth couldn't help snorting. "An article about what?" In her mind, the idea of her writing anything was silly.

"Nothing in particular. I'd like it to be an article on pure-bloods. Besides that, it can be about anything."

"Xeno, you know I'm no writer. All I do are school essays and those are nothing spectacular; just enough to get the grades I need to do well in my classes. They're no great literature. You write just as well."

"Yes," said Xeno, looking disappointed. "But I wanted a real pure-blood to write it."

"Well, you're a pure-blood too."

"True, but my parents are considered blood traitors by most pure-bloods, including your parents. I wasn't raised like a typical pure-blood as you were. Come on, please? You're the ideal person to write it. You know the mind of those elitists without actually thinking like them. It would make it less biased."

Hyacinth could not bring herself to agree with the part about her mind, but she nodded her head anyway. She did not think she was as radical as her parents, but she was not ready to side with Xeno either. "I'll think about it," she said finally.

* * *

That night, Hyacinth and Xeno sat in the Ravenclaw common room. While it was ordinarily quiet due to its inhabitants' love of studying, that evening it was almost painfully loud due to it being the very start of term. Everyone's giddy laughter bounced off the room's brilliant blue papered walls that depicted the life and times of Rowena Ravenclaw. Across from Hyacinth and Xeno on the opposite wall was the wise old witch herself, sitting in her bronze frame. She seemed rather bored and dismayed by all the commotion.

Xeno sat in a large navy chair and played with something in a jar. From what Hyacinth could tell, there was nothing in it, but Xeno seemed very interested in it nonetheless.

"Hy!" he called to her in an excited voice. "Hy, I think I caught one!"

She looked up from the history book she was reading. "Caught what?" she asked, trying as hard as she could to sound polite and interested despite her skepticism.

"A nargle!" he exclaimed. His clear eyes were positively beaming at the empty jar.

Hyacinth tried to smile. "That's great, Xeno. I always knew you'd do it." Thankfully, Xeno was not the best at detecting lies.

Suddenly, the side of the room near the door became silent. This quickly spread to the rest of the room. Clearly, someone of interest had entered.

"It Gilderoy!" breathed a third year girl to the right of Hyacinth.

Sure enough, in walked Lockhart wearing deep purple satin robes. He sauntered over to an empty armchair, winking at girls as he went. Ever since his fifth year when he single-handedly saved a group of first years from almost certain death, he had been the most desired boy in school. Since then, his reputation had only grown. Now in his seventh year, he was known throughout the wizarding world as an up-and-coming hero. Hyacinth was smitten.

"It's amazing he's not in Gryffindor; he's so brave. It must be because he's so smart," she said as she stared at him. "Did you hear how he saved all those children over the summer from a rampaging werewolf?"

Xeno rolled his eyes. "The real wonder is why he's not in Slytherin. I've never heard of such a slimy git coming out of Ravenclaw."

"Oh, you and your conspiracy theories," said Hyacinth. "You're just jealous."

He looked slightly insulted at the idea. "Not at all. I just happen to know for a fact that he either makes up or steals most, if not all, of his fanciful adventures. I just don't have the proof I need yet. But when I do, I'll expose him in _The Quibbler_, mark my words. Speaking of which, have you decided whether or not you'll do the article?"

Hyacinth sighed. "Way to change the subject. I've hardly had one day to think about it. Just give me more time," she said.

A large group of girls gathered around Lockhart as he recounted his latest act of heroism. As he did so, he casually flirted with the prettiest ones. Naturally, those less desirable were largely ignored. No matter how ugly the girls he ignored were, Hyacinth knew she stood no chance. Even they were better looking than her. Lockhart would never notice her as long as she was so hideous. She had thought about improving her appearance before, perhaps giving herself a complete makeover, but she could never do it on her own. It would take too much time, magic, and money.

Then she had an idea. It was brilliant, certainly, but completely mad. Luckily, she had her own madman at her disposal.

"Xeno, I'll do the article, but under one condition. I want you to help give me a makeover."

"Excuse me?" Xeno forgot all about his nargle and stared wide-eyed at his friend .

"I'll write the article, but only if you agree to help me brew potions, research spells, and buy beauty products that will make me the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts."

He continued to stare at her for a minute. "You don't need any of that. I've been telling you that for years."

"Well, I say I do. You can disagree with me all you want, but it's the only way I'll write for you."

"Honestly Hy, it's times like this that I think you should be in Slytherin right along with Lockhart." He drummed his fingers on the table in clear agitation. After a long pause he said "All right, I'll do it, but frankly I think I'm getting the better end of the deal. Are you sure you won't regret it?"

"Not in the least." They shook on the deal and Xeno got up to go to bed.

"What will you write about?" he asked just before leaving.

Hyacinth shrugged. "I don't know yet; I'll come up with something great, I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

The next morning, Xeno and Hyacinth walked together to History of Magic. It was Hyacinth's favorite subject, but one of her least favorite classes. She loved history and was naturally good at it, as was all of her family, but the way it was taught was so dull. And then there was the matter of family ties…

"Hy," Xeno said, tugging on her robes and disrupting her train of thought. "I think someone wants to talk to you."

Sure enough, Narcissa stood outside the classroom with an eyebrow raised at Xeno.

"Oh, hi, Cissy. Don't worry, I haven't forgot about our talk," Hyacinth said and turned to Xeno "Go on without me; I'll meet up with you when I'm done. I've got a few minutes before class starts."

"All right, Hy. See you in a bit," he said as he and Narcissa eyed each other suspiciously. Neither approved of Hyacinth's friendship with the other.

After Xeno entered the classroom, Narcissa motioned Hyacinth over to a bench where they would be less likely to be overheard.

For a few seconds, neither of the girls spoke. Fearing she would be late for class, Hyacinth broke the silence. "Well, what is it you wanted to talk about? You do look a bit flustered, Cissy."

"Yes, I suppose I probably do. Something happened over the summer, and I need to talk with someone about it, someone who knows my family like you do. My Slytherin friends would think I'd lost my mind if I told them about the second thoughts I've been having."

"All right," nodded Hyacinth, trying to understand. She couldn't think of anything her cousin would tell her and not the pure-bloods in Slytherin. "So, what is it you need to tell me?"

Narcissa took a deep breath. "I'm engaged."

"Oh," said Hyacinth, slightly relieved; she was afraid it was something worse than that. "Well, who's your fiancé?"

"Lucius Malfoy. Our parents arranged it. Do you know him?"

"Not personally. We both knew that your parents and the Malfoys have been seriously considering the match for years." Hyacinth remembered her run-in with him the day before. "He's not a bad catch."

"No, he's not bad. It's just that I don't like my parents making a decision like that for me. I thought I would be ok with it since I grew up knowing my marriage would most likely be arranged for me. You know how it is."

Hyacinth nodded. Her parents had also been trying to arrange a marriage for her for years, but most other pure-bloods disliked a connection to them. They had resigned themselves to the fact that she would probably have to marry a half-blood or worse. As a result, Hyacinth would most likely be able to marry for love. That is, of course, if any man would have her hideousness. Unless her makeover scheme worked, she would most likely be an old maid.

"I don't really know what to say, Cissy. At least you have a man. I probably never will. What is he like anyway? I know you know him much better than I do."

"He's usually fairly indifferent towards me. I don't think he cares whether he marries me or not. I grew up with him, before and during our years in Slytherin, but we've never talked all that much. He wasn't very excited when our parents announced our engagement, but he wasn't upset like I was. Of course, he could have been hiding his disappointment. He can be a hard person to read."

"I see." Hyacinth wished she was better at advising people. She looked down at her feet for a minute before saying "Well, maybe you should talk to him and see what he thinks about this whole thing. And you won't get married until after you graduate next year, right?"

Narcissa nodded.

"Maybe you can get to know him by then. You still may not love him, but at least you could be friends with him."

"I suppose I _could_ talk to him, if he'll let me. Usually he completely ignores me, as he does every other girl really. He's rather picky when it comes to girls, I know that much."

Hyacinth got up to leave. "I really shouldn't be late on the first day of class. Let me know what happens."

"Of course," said Narcissa as Hyacinth began to walk to class. "Hyacinth, wait."

"Yes?" Hyacinth said, turning back around.

"Thank you for listening." She looked grateful but did not smile.

"It was nothing," Hyacinth shrugged and continued to class.

"Xeno!" Hyacinth said as she sat down next to her friend. "I know what I'm going to write about!"

"Great! What's the topic?"

"You'll see. I should have it all written by the weekend. When will you be able to print them all up?"

"Probably not until just before Christmas. I've been having trouble securing printing supple. You see-"

Xeno was then interrupted by the arrival of Professor Binns through the blackboard.

"This year I will be preparing you for your OWLS," he said and without further introduction he began to drone.

Five minutes later Hyacinth was hovering near sleep. Binns seemed to be lecturing about Ireland in the eighth century or something like that; she could not tell for sure, but it did sound like something she had read about before. Xeno kept himself awake by writing in his notebook and showed no interest in the lecture.

Just as Hyacinth was about to loose her fight against sleep, Binns' monotone voice stopped. She looked at her watch: surely, that could not be the end of the lecture. She could hear Xeno sigh next to her. "Here we go again," he said under his breath.

"Do I know you?" asked Binns. Hyacinth looked up to see him looking at her with the confused expression all to common with the old forgetful ghost.

"Not personally, sir," she replied, "We discussed this last year, remember?" Every year since her first year, Binns had asked Hyacinth the same question, and every year he had forgotten the answer.

She took a deep breath and began to explain for the fifth time. "I was born after you-"

"-Snuffed it," interjected Xeno in a bored voice.

"Yes," said Hyacinth, "I was born after you, um, died, quite a while afterwards actually. I'm your great-grand-daughter."

"Ah, well that explains it," he said and turned back around to consult his lecture notes. In previous years, this was all he said on the matter, and he never returned to it until the following year. This year, however, something made him change the routine. Before returning to the lecture, he looked back up at Hyacinth.

"You look a great deal like my son Proditor, blood traitor though he was. He's not the one you're descended from are you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I had thought that was before your time," she this, everyone who was not asleep looked up. Her grandfather's treachery was almost legendary, but its exact nature was a mystery for most of the wizarding world.

"No, I was still alive. At least, I think I was. When you have been dead as long as I have, your life and afterlife seem to run together. Now, don't hold what he did against yourself. Mind you, I was never one for blood purity, but it certainly embarrassed your young father and the most other pure-bloods."

He then continued with the rest of the lecture. To Hyacinth's relief, he never spoke of it again, and as far as Binns was concerned the awkward conversation had never happened.

* * *

"Whatever did your grandfather do anyway?" Xeno asked that night in the common room. He was drawing some odd creature as Hyacinth began writing the article. All the while she watched Lockhart out of the corner of her eye.

"You know, they've never told be what happened, my parents I mean. All they ever say is: 'he did something nasty in the Ministry.' I do know he worked in the Ministry so I guess that had something to do with it. But whatever it was, it's made the rest of the pure-bloods avoid us like the plague. Your guess is as good as mine," she said, waving her hand as if to dismiss the topic. Xeno took the hint and let it drop.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

"Xeno, be a dear and pass the pepper, will you? These eggs desperately need some."

Hyacinth and Xeno were eating breakfast in the Great Hall Saturday morning. As usual, Hyacinth looked as if she had just woken up despite the fact that she had spent half an hour that morning combing her hair. Her acne was also looking especially beastly since she had forgotten to apply her potion before going to bed.

Both she and Xeno were writing as they ate. He was just finishing an article while she was making final changes to hers. She had finished it the night before but she wanted to proofread it a few more times before having him read it.

With a slightly miffed expression, Xeno handed Hyacinth the pepper. Without looking up, she took it and continued to edit her article as she applied the pepper to her eggs.

"You're welcome," said Xeno sarcastically.

Hyacinth did not answer.

"There!" she exclaimed a few minutes later, "It's finished!" She slid it under Xeno's nose and over what he was writing.

He skimmed it briefly before reading it fully. "So, it's about pure-blood marriages."

"Yes, arranged marriages primarily." It was hard to tell if he liked it or not.

"I'll admit, this isn't the kind of thing I had in mind. The idea had never really occurred to me before. But, you know, this could be interesting. And it seems fairly neutral towards pure-bloods," he said as he scratched his chin. Finally he cracked a smile. "Yes, well done, Hy! I do believe this will work!"

"I'm glad to hear it. But I've been thinking. I don't think it's a good idea to use my real name. There is a slight chance my parents could hear about it. Even if it's neutral by most people's standards, they won't like it."

"You're probably right," Xeno said and stopped to think. "I know; we won't put a name, but instead I'll make up some story about how I met the writer. I'll make her American or something. I'll say she wishes to remain anonymous."

"People might still suspect me. Everyone knows I'm a close friend of yours. I'm probably the only pure-blood you know outside your own family."

He took another minute to think. "Well, just by the off chance anyone does suspect, I'll put your name on a history article I was planning to write for the first issue. The styles of writing will be different, and a history piece is exactly what you'd normally write anyway. It'll distract everyone who knows you from the one you actually wrote."

"I suppose it could work. My parents would understand me writing a history article. Promise me it won't be alternative history, ok? No conspiracy theories, promise?"

He rolled his eyes. Sometimes her lack of faith in his common sense insulted him. "Yes, of course. I'll try to make it 'main-stream.'"

"So, when can you print it?" although she had been hesitant at the beginning, now Hyacinth was quite excited about being published, even if it was in _The Quibbler_.

"Like I started to explain a few days ago: I won't be able to print them until just before term ends. I don't have a typewriter and I have no way of making a lot of copies. I've been researching mass copying spells and things, but I haven't found the right method yet."

"All right then. Just promise me you won't take too long. I don't like waiting."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. Don't worry, it'll be done before you know it," he sighed, "Anyway, you still want to go through with that makeover thing?"

"Yes, of course. We should start planning now."

Xeno hated it when she got demanding like this. He could literally see the Black blood in her. "Well, this afternoon is the first Hogsmeade trip of the season."

"Why, it is, isn't it? I'd almost forgotten," she said as she got up and gave Xeno a pat on the head. "I'll meet you outside the Three Broomsticks, ok?" And with that, she left to study in the library.

Xeno rubbed his head. Hopefully, if this makeover had any effect, it would make her a little more considerate. One thing he hated about her more than her demanding attitude was how she could be so condescending.

* * *

As usual, Lucius Malfoy was bored. He sat drinking a pint of Butterbeer in The Tree Broomsticks as he waited for Narcissa. She had cornered him in the hall the day before and asked to speak with him. He sat with his friends as he waited, but was uninterested in their conversation; wizard chess held little interest for him.

"Oh look, here comes the circus," said Rabastan Lestrange who sat next to him. The other Slytherins laughed and Lucius looked up to see Xenophilius Lovegood and Hyacinth Binns enter the pub.

"You know," said Rabastan, "I do believe they get more eccentric each time I see them. Honestly, just imagine the hideous offspring they're bound to produce. And 'pure-bloods' too, good God!"

Lucius shrugged. "Lovegood is certainly nutty, I agree. But Binns seems fairly normal, despite spending so much time with him and her overwhelming lack of grooming skills."

"But she _is_ the great-granddaughter of Professor Binns. Surely Lucius, she cannot be sane," Rabastan reminded his friend. Not that he was one to judge. Though he wasn't as twisted as his brother or new sister-in-law, Rabastan was hardly in the position to accuse other people of insanity. "Then there's the matter of her grandfather," he added.

"Yes, of course," Lucius said and wrinkled up his nose at the thought of blood traitors, "But her parents seem to have the right idea, or so mine say, not that they actually associate with them or anything."

"What _did_ Proditor Binns do anyway?" asked one of the other Slytherins.

"I've no idea," Lucius replied, "I did ask my father once, but he only had a vague idea of what happened. 'He did something nasty in The Ministry,' he said."

"Sounds like a Muggle-lover to me," said Rabastan mischievously, "And I don't mean he just liked to have tea with them."

The others rolled their eyes. "You, my friend, have a very sick mind," said Lucius, "Well, there's Narcissa. I'll see you all later."

Indeed, she had just entered, and after giving a brief nod to Hyacinth, she sat down in an empty corner. As Lucius began to walk over to her, his friends looked at each other in confusion. Like Narcissa, Lucius had not yet told his friends of their engagement.

"I hope you weren't waiting for me too long," she said as he sat down.

"Not at all," he lied. In truth he had become a little impatient.

For several minutes they sat in awkward silence.

"Lucius," said Narcissa finally, "I wanted to know how you feel about all…_this_."

He took a minute to answer. "Frankly," he sighed, "I don't mind that much. These past weeks I've tried to formulate an opinion, but I honestly feel pretty indifferent towards the whole thing. I know you've had other suitors you've chosen yourself," he paused, "But I've never gone out with anyone since I have always accepted an arranged marriage as my only option."

"Oh," was all she said. She was hoping he would lean more towards her opinion of the situation.

"I suppose," he continued when it appeared she was not going to say anything else, "My parents wouldn't mind too much if I married on my own accord as long as I married relatively well, but they've always made it clear that they preferred to choose for me. And I was fine with that."

He could tell she was slightly angry with him. "I do like you, Lucius," she said, "But it's just that," she paused, "there's someone else."

"I understand," he said, "Well, this is a problem, isn't it?"

Again, they sat in silence.

"I would like to go ahead with it," he said after thinking a good while, "I say that we agree to be married as planned two years from now unless we each find more suitable fiancés. Agreed?"

Narcissa brightened considerably at this. "Agreed," she said, "Besides, in two years I'll be over seventeen just as you already are and legally an adult. There's nothing our parents can do."

"Right."

They both got up to leave. "You know that I think very highly of you," she said.

Lucius smirked at this. "Well, I'm glad to hear it, Narcissa. I'm afraid not many other people do."

* * *

Hyacinth watched her cousin talk with Lucius. She was glad to see that she had taken her advice. It felt good to know that someone had actually listened to her.

After a few minutes, she and Xeno had both drunk their Butterbeers and they headed out of the pub.

"What shop did you have in mind for picking up beauty supplies, Hy?" Xeno asked.

"Hmmm, well, I was thinking we could start at Dervish and Banges. I think they have some stuff like that it the back."

Xeno sighed deeply; he has not looking forward to this "All right then, let's go."

The shop was a few doors down and like all the others in Hogsmeade it was crowded. Hyacinth grabbed the sleeve of Xeno's robes and pushed her way through the back where the beauty supplies were kept.

"Which do you think would work better?" she held up two different bottles of hair tonic.

"Whichever one is cheaper," Xeno replied as he admired a magical typewriter for sale nearby.

"Don't be like that. Pay attention!" Hyacinth pulled him back over to where the bottles were.

"Personally, I prefer the one in the blue bottle," said a dreamy voice behind them.

It was another Ravenclaw a year below them. Hyacinth had seen her in the common room before, but she was not familiar with her. The girl had long white-blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She did not seem to be looking at any merchandise but instead she was reading out of a large book. Hyacinth notice that the girl was looking intently at Xeno when she spoke.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind," said Hyacinth. Before she could ask her for her name, the girl smiled serenely at Xeno and drifted out the door.

"Xeno, do we know her?" the girl was certainly odd, but then again, but not any worse than Xeno really.

"I've seen her in the common room several times, and I did talk to her once about nargles. She seemed to actually believe me. Usually, she sits in the far corner near Ravenclaw's portrait and plays with spells. She seems rather clever; I think she makes up some of the spells herself." Xeno seemed to blush slightly.

Hyacinth eyed him suspiciously. "I do remember her vaguely, but who is she?"

"I think she said her name was Stella Jones. She's a Muggle-born, I think," he said and absent-mindedly played with the bottles on the shelves.

"I see," she said, "Well, she certainly was strange."

_But with the name Xenophilius, _though Hyacinth, _strange is probably a turn-on. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The months passed and soon it was the end of term. There was only one day before the winter holiday was to start, and Xeno was still struggling to publish the first issue of _The Quibbler_ before everyone left. A week before he had bought the typewriter he had seen is Dervish and Banges after saving for months, but he still could not get it to work quite right. It was supposed to make multiple copies of each page as he typed, but it refused to turn out more than two copies at any given time.

As usual, he sat in the Ravenclaw common room with Hyacinth. "You know, Hy," he said, "I think it's probably one of the charms they put on this thing, a Multiplication Charm or something. It must have malfunctioned, or maybe it's not strong enough. I'd take it to the shop and have it fixed, but there isn't any time for that. What do you think?"

"Don't look at me! I don't know anything about that sort of thing. I'm horrible at Charms," Hyacinth was scanning the room for Lockhart as she said this.

"He's not in here, Hy. Anyway, don't you have a book or something that could help?"

"None that I can think of." He was right; Lockhart was not in the room. Disappointed, Hyacinth began shifting through her bag where she kept the beauty supplies she and Xeno had bought over the last few months. They had decided to do the makeover over Christmas when few people were around. She was used to spending Christmas at school; home was boring. Xeno, however, disliked the idea since he actually had a proper family he could go home to.

"Just think, Xeno, in a few days, I'll be beautiful."

"Whatever you say. I still think you'll regret it."

Hyacinth was about to retort when she noticed Stella Jones standing behind Xeno.

"I could fix that for you if you like," she said "I've never fixed a magical typewriter, but have seen it done with a magical printing press. And how different are they, really?"

Xeno was positively crimson. "Um, all right."

Without incantation, Stella waved her wand and the typewriter began copying.

"There, it should work as intended now."

"Thank you very much. Here, take the first copy, _Stella_," Xeno said.

"Oh, you're quite welcome. And thank _you_! It will give me something to read on the train back to London." And with that she drifted away.

Hyacinth looked at her friend's embarrassed expression and smiled, but she did not say a word.

"This is marvelous! It should all be finished by tomorrow," Xeno said as it continued to print.

* * *

The next day, the school was littered with copies of _The Quibbler. _A few embraced it and took the time to actually read it. These were mainly people who personally knew Xeno. But for the most part, everyone else thought it was silly and ignored it. Except, of course, for the Slytherins. They had a field day with it.

Lucius walked into the Great Hall that morning to find half the house crowded around a copy of it, laughing hysterically.

"Malfoy!" called a sixth year as he waved _The Quibbler _in the air, "Have you seen what Lovegood did yet? It's hilariously bad."

Curious, he was about to come over to see it when he noticed first year Severus Snape sitting at the other end of the table and being pelted with flying objects from the Gryffindor table. Naturally, it was Potter and Black. Lucius waited for them to throw something else. Sure enough, a copy of _The Quibbler _that had been folded into a paper plane came flying through the air. With a clumsy flick of his wand and a few seconds' delay, Lucius had it drop harmlessly to the floor before it made it to its target. He then picked it off the ground and sat down next to Snape. At seeing Lucius' prefect badge, the two hooligans ceased their teasing.

Lucius's wand began to make odd hissing sounds. "I think something's wrong with your wand," observed Severus.

Lucius returned it to his robes. "Yes, it's been acting very peculiar lately. I'll have to get a new one over Christmas. Are you going back home this afternoon Severus?"

"No."

"Oh." He looked down at the copy of _The Quibbler _that he was still holding.

He read the headlines on the cover.

"The True History of Merlin, pg. 3"

"Nargles 101, pg. 2"

"An Inside Look At Pure-blood Marriages, pg. 10"

The last one caught his eye. While Severus and the others weren't looking, he transfigured it into a Quidditch magazine and stowed it in his robes. He would read it later.

"What a load of rubbish," he said. Severus briefly looked up from his Potions book and nodded.

A few hours later, Lucius was on the train back to London when he took _The Quibbler_ out and turned to page ten.

_An Inside Look At Pure-blood Marriages_

A note from the editor:

Because of the sensitive nature of the subject, the author of the article wishes her identity to be kept secret. All I will say is that she is a pure-blood from America whom I met through a common acquaintance and she is of similar age to myself.

The majority of the Wizarding world regards all pure-blood youth as more than content to fulfill the duties their parents' expect of them. In this modern age, arranged marriages are no longer typical and in the few cases where they do occur, the young adults in question have no second thoughts but to obey. This is a serious misconception. Arranged marriages for pure-bloods are not only the norm, but one of the most important expectations parents put on their children.

With each generation, pure-bloods make up smaller and smaller percentages of the population. This makes arranged marriages more important than ever. In this way, they are possibly even more important than they were in their perceived heyday two hundred years ago. Indeed, marriage for love is a Muggle idea. Why should they adopt it now?

Many like to say that pure-blood children are brainwashed to accept arranged marriages. This is not any more true than it is of non-pure-bloods, or even Muggles, who raise their children to expect love-based marriages. Both are the separate taught ideals of their respective cultures. I know pure-bloods, who I obviously can not refer to by name here, who dislike the idea of arranged marriages and are seeking ways out of them. I myself was raised to expect an arranged marriage, and if it were possible in my case I would probably be engaged now had it not been for extenuating circumstances. But many other young pure-bloods choose arranged marriages willingly because it represents the continuation of their culture.

It is not shameful to accept an arranged marriage nor is it shameful to reject one. In our world, both points of view are steeped in certain traditions and ideals. It is of the utmost importance that both sides understand the other's views of marriage in order to become a more unified society.

* * *

That evening, Hyacinth was in the girls' dormitory gleefully packing her bag a beauty supplies. That night was the first night of her transformation process. They would apply all the spells and potions and in a few days, they will have reached full potency.

She carried her large bag to common room where she was to meet Xeno. She found him talking with Stella, one of the few other Ravenclaws who stayed behind for the holidays. He reluctantly turned away from his conversation when he saw Hyacinth enter and handed her an envelope.

"What's this?"

He shrugged. "Fan mail, I guess. It was addressed to me, as editor of _The Quibbler_, to give to the author of the pure-blood article. Apparently someone liked it. An owl delivered it just a few minutes ago."

"Really? Wow! I'll read it later, but for now, we've got work to do." Hyacinth put the letter in her pocket and they headed out the door.

"Do we have to use Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Hy?"

"I don't like the idea, either, but even with almost everyone out of the castle, there's still a chance someone could come in the bathroom and spoil my surprise transformation. Besides, you don't want anyone seeing you in the girls bathroom, do you?"

"No"

"Then let's go."

As usual, Moaning Myrtle was in one of her moods. When Xeno and Hyacinth entered, she seemed both curious and irritated. Upon seeing what Hy had in her bag, Myrtle was nothing short of livid.

"Oh yes, it's _so_ amusing to mock me, isn't it? 'Let's all show off our beauty treatments in front of Myrtle because she can't use them!' I was once a Ravenclaw with feeling just like you, too, you know."

"Oh, shut it, Myrtle! Go back to your u-bend," Hy retorted.

With a low wail, Myrtle went back to her stall but kept the door open so she could still see what they were doing.

Hyacinth looked in one of the mirrors. "I say we start with the hair since it probably needs the most work."

First, they shampooed her hair with blonding shampoo. Next, Xeno used a cutting spell he had been practicing to give Hyacinth layers as well as a lengthening spell to make her hair longer. Finally, they used a special magical straight iron on it.

After her hair came her complexion. This included rigorous acne potions and peels.

The third item on the agenda was her teeth. For this, bleaching spells and potions were in order.

Last but not least was the full-body potion to alter her body shape.

When they were all finished, Hyacinth hardly looked any different besides having a different haircut. "I know the results will take awhile to totally show, but how long will it take? I'm feeling impatient!"

_Don't you always?_ thought Xeno. "The transformation should be complete by the start of term."

"It had better be. Let's go back to the common room."

After getting ready for bed, Hyacinth took out her fan letter and read it:

Dear Madame,

I just had the pleasure of reading your piece in the inaugural issue of _The Quibbler._ I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see a mainstream article that did not paint pure-bloods such as myself in an unfavorable light.

Like you, I have seen pure-blood arranged marriages first hand. I think we could have much to talk about. Like you friend Xenophilius, I also attend Hogwarts (however, because of Christmas I am not there at this time). I know you are an American, but perhaps if you are in the area, we could chat. Or, if it's not too bold to ask, perhaps we could be pen pals.

Sincerely,

A Friend

"What elegant writing he has!" whispered Hyacinth to herself (for clearly by the handwriting, it was a boy). If only it was Gilderoy, but that could not be since he was a half-blood at best. Come to think of it, she was not quite sure what his blood status was.

Nevertheless, she was excited. Although it was past the normal time she went to sleep, she grabbed a quill, ink, and a piece of paper.

Dear Sir (I assume it is sir),

Thank you for you letter. I would be delighted to become a pen pal, as you put it. I too believe we could both benefit from a friendship of this sort.

I am currently staying in Hogsmeade, and will be there until well after you return to school.

Until then,

A Friend

P.S. Not to sound rude, but you're not engaged or married, are you? (assuming it is sir)

Hyacinth then sealed the letter and put it on her bedside table. She would send it first thing after breakfast. She felt terrible lying like she did, but who knows who this person could be. Besides, if her plan to seduce Gilderoy worked, she would not need this extra admirer. Most likely, she would never even meet him.


End file.
